


panacea

by shadowcat500



Series: Plaguetober 2020 [30]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, Illnesses, Plague Doctors, Plaguetober 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:48:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27253708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowcat500/pseuds/shadowcat500
Summary: The cure is made, and tested on a person for whom it is their only hope.
Series: Plaguetober 2020 [30]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948417





	panacea

**Author's Note:**

> 30/10 Cure

The pot bubbles away noisily on the fire, Nimbus stirring every so often with a focussed look on their face. Three clockwise, followed by one counter-clockwise. If they screw this up, everything they’ve done, how far they’ve travelled for these ingredients will be for naught.

Behind them, Dahlia and Kuriko prepare the ingredients. Dahlia is soaking the whitepoint root in the bloodfruit juice and white wine, while Kuriko carefully minces the green moksdine tongue. Everything else is already in the pot, blackfin poison and fire lily and coalroot and all. Chances are it’ll taste like shit, but as long as it saves their sick friend, it’ll be alright.

Speaking of, Rian continues to slumber next to the fire. None of them are sure if he’s really asleep or just unable to move and respond at this point, any attempt they’ve made at getting an answer never getting any reply. Maybe the disease is just progressing too fast.

Kuriko silently passes the minced tongue to Dahlia, who scrapes it off the chopping board into the pot, quickly followed by the uncomfortably squishy pinkish root. Nimbus continues to stir as the liquid steadily turns a warm, soupy brown.

“Stop stirring, we need to leave it to simmer.” Kuriko’s hand finds itself on Nimbus’s shoulder, and they remove the wooden spoon from the mixture.

The conscious members of the group watch as the mixture simmers and steadily lightens to a pale fawn, at which point Kuriko clears her throat and says “I think it’s ready. Dahlia, if you’d do the honours.”

Dahlia takes a small corked bottle from her coat, uncorks the lid and drowns the bottle in the mixture. Her gloves protect her from the heat, but still Kuriko flinches at the display. After a few moments, she turns around with the bottle filled and re-corked. “Does he just… drink it?”

Kuriko nods, and Dahlia walks the short distance to Rian’s bedroll before kneeling by his side with Kuriko and Nimbus following suit. They prop Rian up, open his mouth, and watch as Dahlia pours a mouthful of the cure in before closing his mouth and nose, forcing him to swallow before they let him breathe again. Then they gently let him down, and release a collective sigh.

The only thing they can do now is hope.

**Author's Note:**

> Yeah Rian got the plague. Shit happens.
> 
> Check out my [ tumblr](https://existentialcrisisetcetera.tumblr.com/tagged/zach%20writes)!
> 
> Comments and kudos appreciated!


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